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PAX East Preview: Transistor powers high excitement levels

Posted on March 26, 2013 by Anthony Swinnich in Previews | Leave a comment

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There was a lot to take away from Supergiant Games’ booth at PAX East 2013, but the most obvious was that Transistor is on everyone’s radar. Long lines and a consistently crowded booth are usually clear indicators of hype, something this booth had no shortage of. Attendees were willing to spend two hours of their valuable time to give the game a spin, and after playing it, it’s easy to see why.

One might see the similarities to Bastion upon first glance and they wouldn’t be wrong. The top-down isometric viewpoint returns, as does the foundation for combat and heavy emphasis on story. But everything isn’t as it seems and there are some key changes that differentiate Transistor from its forerunner. Supergiant purposefully crafted the game with the intent to further explore their take on the Action-RPG genre.

“The details of [Transistor], and the tone and the atmosphere, the particular feel of it and its identity, that stuff takes a while to find and it’s taken a while to find here,” said Supergiant’s Greg Kasavin. “I don’t consider Bastion an experimental game and I don’t think a lot of people do. It plays like, on the surface at least, it plays like games you’ve played before. It might remind you of Zelda or Diablo (those aren’t necessarily direct influences) but we weren’t trying to invent a new genre with the game.”
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Supergiant Games reveals their next game, Transistor. Play it at PAX East

Posted on March 21, 2013 by Anthony Swinnich in Mobile News, News, PC, PC News, PSN News, XBLA News | Leave a comment

It must be a difficult task to follow up one of the best games released in any given year, but that’s Supergiant Games’ fault for releasing a title as good as Bastion. The first look at Transistor, their upcoming second title, shows that they aren’t going to fix what isn’t broken while attempting to reinvent the wheel at the same time.

Transistor is a pretty stark departure from Bastion in terms of setting. Players take on the role of singer/songwriter Red, who lives in the futuristic city of Cloudbank. She is attacked by a group of scoundrels but survives and gains control of their weapon, which looks to be a sword of some sort. The plot chronicles her journey to discover the true purpose of the mysterious item she acquired while keeping it out of the hands of those who would do her harm to take it back.

As far as gameplay mechanics go, Transistor looks like it’s going to stick to what Supergiant does well, as the game appears to be a top-down isometric action-RPG. This makes sense, since the entire Bastion team is returning to craft this game, albeit with a few new members. Though some elements will be familiar, don’t expect a simple retread.

“We’re designing our next game to seamlessly integrate thoughtful strategic planning into a fast-paced action experience,” said Supergiant Games’ Greg Kasavin, “complete with our studio’s signature melding of responsive gameplay and rich atmospheric storytelling.”

Transistor will be on the show floor this weekend when we attend PAX in Boston. We have an appointment lined up with Supergiant, so expect a hands-on preview of the game’s current build, which is in Alpha state right now.

Source: Supergiant Games

Bastion preview: Not your ordinary action RPG

Posted on March 14, 2011 by Dave Voyles in PC, PC Previews, Previews, XBLA, XBLA Previews | Leave a comment

look at the reaper!Rarely does a game command both a distinct visual style and drive the character and player into a world through a compelling narrative, but fortunately, Bastion manages both. Developer Supergiant Games is based out of San Jose, CA and comprised largely of former EA employees, and last week at GDC I had the opportunity to interview creative director and writer Greg Kasavin about the title. I also played the game at GDC, where I was immersed in the world, and when I played it again at PAX, my initial thoughts were fully reinforced.

As “the kid” awoke from his slumber, the world around him remained in a dream-like state. Surrounding him were platforms that raised from the ground as the environment had him floating in the heavens, miles above the world’s surface. Walls rained from above, encompassing him within their boundaries. All the while, the hand-painted backdrops that remained out of focus further reinforced the notion the kid had never actually awoken. The story of the Bastion revolves around the construction a safe haven in the wake of the Calamity, a devastating event that shattered the world. Miraculously the adventurer survived, and is bound to journey into the unknown in search of supplies and survivors.

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GDC 2011: Interview with Greg Kasavin, creative director and writer of Bastion

Posted on March 9, 2011 by Dave Voyles in XBLA | 3 Comments


oooooh colorful!

Of all the titles I had the opportunity to experience at GDC 2011, Bastion is one which stood out in my mind far after my time with it. The visual flair and art style are breathtaking and command your attention, while the stalwart voice of the narrator chronicles your journey each step of the way. This offered tremendous depth and ambiance to my adventure. Naturally, I sought after the man behind the work, Greg Kasavin, creative director and writer for Supergiant Games to talk about the game and its development.

So where’d you guys get the idea for Bastion? Or, what is a Bastion?

Bastion; our use of it is meant to be kind of open to interpretation, but you’ll sometimes hear the expression, “the last bastion of hope,” or “America is the last bastion of democracy,” or some crap like that. So it means a safe haven, right? Like a place where something can be defended. People sometimes use the term both kind of cynically and sometimes sincerely. So in the game you’re trying to find a safe haven, um, after you’ve played for some of it—

Yeah, you like wake up and you go to a bar, it’s kinda destroyed.

Yeah, you start off and there’s some sort of surreal catastrophe has happened, and your character heads to this place called The Bastion, which was your people’s safe haven. When you get there though, all you find is an old man who believes he has the ability to restore it, um, restore whatever it is that went wrong. So he kinda recruits you to help out cause he needs to, he needs… he’s got this location with these kind of unusual properties but it’s not fully formed yet, so you work together with him to finish the job. So that’s the basic premise.

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